LeibnizLecture2Monadology31‐69

HumanSitua6onTeamOmega

Spring2010

Outline

•  Humans’specialknowledge•  TheNatureofGod:Power,Knowledge,Will

•  Humansandcreatedmonads

•  God’sCrea@on•  TheBeautyofNature

Humans’Knowledge

•  Knowledgeofnecessarytruthsandabstrac6ons•  Twogreatprinciples: Contradic6on(31) SufficientReason(32)

•  Twokindsoftruths:(33) Truthsofreasoning Truthsoffact

•  Truthsoffactcouldbeknownonlythroughaninfiniteanalysis(36‐7);“Thereforethesufficientorul6matereasonmustneedsbeoutsideofthesequence”

•  ThismustbeGod(38)

Question:

What belongs in the complete individual concept of a human being, say, Professor Estess?

TheNatureofGod:Power,Knowledge,Will(48)

•  Power:Sourceofeverything•  Knowledge:containsdetailsoftheideas•  Will:changesorproducesthingsinaccordancewiththeprinciplesofthegreatestgood

•  Theul6matereasonforthings(38)•  Thesupremesubstance(40)•  Unique,universal,necessary,withnothingindependentoutsideofit(40)

•  Containsasmuchrealityaspossible(40)

God’sNature(cont’d)

•  Thesourceofexistencesandalsoofessences(43)•  God’sknowledgeisthesourceofrealityinessences,possibili6es,andeternaltruths(44)

•  ForGodalone,ifhebepossible,hemustnecessarilyexist(anaprioriproofofGod’sexistence)45

•  EternaltruthsarenotdependentonGod’swill(asDescartesthinks);rather,they“dependsolelyuponhisunderstandingandaretheinnerobjectsofit”(46)

•  Con6ngenttruthsdodependonGod’swill—they“dependuponfitnessorthechoiceofthegreatestgood”(46)

CreatedMonads

•  Humansandcreatedmonads:(ComparetoGod’sadributes,48) Subjectorbasis Percep6on Appe66on

•  Ac6oninacreatedmonad:greaterperfec6on=clearpercep6ons

•  Passion/passivity=lessdis6nctorconfusedpercep6ons(49)

•  Greaterperfec6on:Onethingcontainsapriorithereasonforsomethingintheotherthing(50)

CreatedMonads(cont’d.)

•  Createdmonads“interac6ons”areonlyideal(51)•  Ac6onandpassioninmonadsarereciprocalthroughGod(52)

•  Everymonad“isaperpetuallivingmirroroftheuniverse”(56)

•  Monads’percep6ons“inaconfusedway…reachouttoinfinity”butarelimitedanddifferen6atedinthedegreeoftheirdis6nctpercep6ons”(60).

•  Allspaceisfilledup,allbodiesintercommunicate“sothathewhosawallcouldreadineachonewhatishappeningeverywhere,andevenwhathashappenedandwhatwillhappen.”(61)

God’sCrea6on(SeealsoDiscourseI‐V)

•  Godmusthavechosentocreatethebestfromamonganinfinitenumberofpossibleuniverses(53)

•  Thischoiceisduetofitnessordegreeofperfec6on(54)•  “Thisisthecausefortheexistenceofthegreatestgood;

namely,thatthewisdomofGodpermitshimtoknowit,hisgoodnesscauseshimtochooseit,andhispowerenableshimtoproduceit.”

•  Aninfinitenumberofuniversesareactuallythesameuniverseseenfromtheperspec6veofeachmonad(57).

•  Goodnessoftheuniverse:greatestpossiblevarietytogetherwithgreatestorder(58).

TheBeautyofNature

•  Eachbodyrepresentstheen6reuniverse;thesoulmonadrepresentsmoredis6nctlythebodyofwhichitistheentelechy,andalsothroughthis,theen6reuniverse(62).

•  Body+Soul=Livingbeing,animal(63)•  “Everyorganicbodyofalivingbeingisakindofdivine

machineornaturalautomaton,infinitelysurpassingallar6ficialautomatons”(64)

•  “Thereisaworldofcreatedthings…intheminutestpar6cleofmader”(65)

•  “Everypor6onofmadermaybeconceivedaslikeagardenfullofplantsandlikeapondfulloffish.”(66)

•  “Thereisnothinguncul6vated,orsterileordeadintheuniverse,nochaos,noconfusion,saveinappearance”(69).

Fornext@me:Mon.February22

•  Therela6onbetweenhumansandGod:ThecityofGod

•  Monadology70‐90

•  DiscourseonMetaphysicsXXXV‐XXXVII